Acadiana police and fire briefs for Jan. 31, 2013

Acadiana police and fire briefs for Jan. 31, 2013

Knife taken from elementary pupil

LAFAYETTE — Alice Boucher Elementary staff took a knife Wednesday morning from a student and police were called to assist with a search of the classroom wing where the student attends classes, Lafayette Police Cpl. Paul Mouton said.

No other weapons were found during the search of the fourth- and fifth-grade wing of the school, Mouton said in a news release.

The school’s principal, Laniakia Johnson, asked Lafayette police school resource officers to come to the school Wednesday morning because Johnson got a report Tuesday afternoon that a student planned to bring a knife to school the next day, Mouton said.

“The school administration had previously (Tuesday) devised a plan of action following receipt of the threat yesterday,”Mouton said.

The student’s parents were contacted and the child was released to their custody, he said. The child, who was under the age of 11, was not charged with a crime. The child’s exact age was not released by police.

Johnson sent out a recorded voice message and email to parents Wednesday afternoon explaining that the search was planned following an “infraction” Tuesday. The search was “a proactive measure” and the school was not on a “complete lockdown,” she said in the message.

Students “were never in any danger or placed in harm’s way,” she said in the message.

Man, 35, arrested in Facebook threats

LAFAYETTE — University of Louisiana at Lafayette police arrested Ryan M. Kazemi, 35, Tuesday and booked him with terrorizing after he was accused of making threats on Facebook referencing the university and its police department.

Kazemi is not employed by the university and is not a student, UL-Lafayette police Sgt. Billy Abrams said.

He said university police began an investigation because “some of the threats were directed toward university police.”

Kazemi referenced other law enforcement agencies in his alleged Facebook posts, but did not characterize the references as threats.

Abrams said he could not disclose details on the Facebook posts or how the police department became aware of the posts.

“It’s still under investigation,” he said.

Kazemi was arrested without incident at a home on Betts Street, records show. Jail records show that Kazemi resides in the 100 block of Betts Street, which is less than 2 miles from the university police department.

“There was no danger to the university community at that time,” Abrams said.